3 Days in Montreal with Kids

For kids, Montreal is more than just another big city to visit — it’s learning come to life. In Old Montreal they can imagine what it was like to live hundreds of years ago along the narrow cobblestone streets of a French colonial settlement, and then find out all about their own century’s cutting-edge innovations at the Montreal Science Centre. They can travel the natural world from the tropics to the Arctic at the Biodome, or develop their artistic talents through workshops at the Museum of Fine Arts.

But not to worry, kids — Montreal isn’t all educational! There’s plenty of just plain fun to be had, like plunging down the Lachine Rapids in a jet boat or taking a spooky ghost tour of Old Montreal. And parents can rest assured that Montreal’s attractions will be nearly as fun for them as they are for their kids.

Home Away From Home

The Delta Montreal is conveniently located in the heart of downtown and offers a number of perks for young travelers; this includes an age-appropriate “kids’ essentials” kit at check-in as well as access to the children’s activity center filled with toys, books, games, and arts and crafts. Kids stay free in their parents’ room and enjoy reduced rates in the hotel’s restaurant.

The luxurious Loews Hotel Vogue is perfect for families who like to travel in style. Spacious rooms come with comfy duvets and whirlpool baths. The hotel offers a lending library of games, children’s menus in the hotel restaurant, supervised recreational programs and a welcome gift at check-in.

The Holiday Inn Montreal-Midtown is an affordable option on Rue Sherbrooke, with comfortable rooms, an indoor pool and a game room for kids.

Day One

Tip: Before you leave the hotel this morning, pack a change of clothes for everyone — you’ll need them later!

Your tour begins where the city itself did — in Vieux-Montreal, or Old Montreal (metro stop: Place d’Armes). Take yourself back in time to the days when this was a tiny French colony struggling to survive the frigid winters and frequent skirmishes with neighboring Native Americans. Learn all about it at Pointe-A-Calliere, a museum of archaeology and history located on the spot where the city was founded. Start your visit with a multimedia show presenting a brief history of Montreal; then head downstairs to see the stone foundations of some of the city’s original buildings and fortifications, along with artifacts from all eras of Montreal’s history. You’ll also see Montreal’s first Catholic cemetery, which dates from 1643.

Leave the museum and let everyone explore the neighborhood for a while, choosing any little street or alley that looks interesting and soaking up the atmosphere of Montreal’s well-preserved Old Town. Then herd the gang toward the waterfront and the colorful Science Centre, chock-full of interactive exhibits for all ages. When everyone gets hungry, fill up at the Cafe Arsenik before heading over to the adjacent IMAX theater to catch a show. Various rate packages are available for admission to the science center and/or the IMAX theater, including family packages.

After you’ve soaked up some science, it’s time for a soaking of a different kind! Head north along the Old Port to the Jacques-Cartier pier, where you can board either a jet boat or a speed boat (see JetboatingMontreal.com) to whisk you off on a thrilling ride down the rapids of the nearby Lachine Canal. (Jet boats are fast, but speed boats are faster and wilder.) Kids must be at least 6 to participate and should have a healthy sense of adventure. Remember that change of clothes? You’ll need it now — whether you choose jet boating or speed boating, prepare to get wet!

All that excitement has probably made everyone hungry, so find yourselves some dinner at one of the many restaurants lining Place Jacques-Cartier, the square at the heart of Montreal’s Old Town. We like Jardin Nelson, best known for its sweet and savory crepes (there’s also pizza on the menu for picky eaters). After dinner, explore Old Montreal further with a ghost tour (see FantomMontreal.com) — go in search of the city’s most famous phantoms, or learn about some of the more dastardly crimes committed here.

Another, less scary after-dinner option? Watching the displays of Montreal’s annual international fireworks competition, held on Saturday nights throughout the summer in La Ronde, the city’s amusement park. Tickets for seats in the amusement park are pricey, but you’ll enjoy a view nearly as good for free from across the water in the Old Port.

Day Two

Today you’ll be venturing outside the main downtown area of Montreal to a neighborhood known as Maisonneuve, which was an independent city before being annexed to Montreal in 1918. It was here that the 1976 Summer Olympics were held, and today you can still take a look inside the large domed stadium where many of the sporting events took place.

Tip: If you’re planning to see everything on today’s itinerary, we recommend looking into joint admission tickets for the Biodome, Botanic Garden and Olympic Tower. You can purchase them at any of these sites.

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Start at the Montreal Biodome (metro stop: Viau). Part zoo, part eco-museum, the Biodome showcases four artificially created environmental worlds, complete with plants, birds and animals native to each region. You’ll start off in the humid tropics, where agile monkeys leap from branch to branch, caimans laze by the water and brilliantly colored birds are just visible high in the trees. Your next stop is the Laurentian forest (the Laurentians are a mountain range north of Montreal), where highlights include a playful otter, beavers in their dam and a lynx stalking back and forth across a mock mountainside. You’ll then proceed to the marine environment of the St. Lawrence Gulf, where you’ll see fish underwater and seabirds flying overhead. Your last stop is the crowd-pleasing polar world exhibit, where penguins waddle awkwardly on land but rocket like torpedoes once in the water.

Out front, a free shuttle takes you from the Biodome to the entrance of the Botanic Garden, which encompasses some 30 outdoor gardens and 10 interconnected greenhouses. Depending on their age and attention span, the kids may not make it through the whole garden, so pick and choose the sights they’ll be most interested in. (Be sure to check ahead to see what will be on exhibit; on our visit, an exhibition featuring a collection of butterflies kept kids — and adults — mesmerized.) Outdoor highlights include the exotic Japanese and Chinese Gardens, the Toxic Plant Garden (enclosed by a wooden fence), and the First Nations Garden, which honors the Native Americans that were Quebec’s first inhabitants. Inside the greenhouses you’ll find plants in a variety of fun shapes and colors, from lush tropical blooms and Chinese dwarf trees to cacti and succulents. Stop for a lunch break at the Fuji Pavilion, an outdoor snack bar where you can eat in view of the gardens.

When you’ve finished lunch, make your way to the Insectarium, located near the greenhouses. As you might guess, it’s devoted to all things bugs — and is even shaped like a fly! They’re all here: colorful butterflies, hairy spiders, shiny beetles, buzzing bees, skinny stick insects and more, in collections from around the world. And — just in case the kids didn’t get quite enough for lunch — the museum offers insect-tasting too!

After the kids have enjoyed their tasty dessert, take the free shuttle from the entrance of the gardens back down to the Olympic Stadium and Biodome. Your final stop will be the Tour de Montreal, the tower attached to the stadium — at 574 feet, it’s the tallest leaning tower in the world. A funicular takes you all the way up to an observation deck, from which you can see for miles — sometimes even as far as the Laurentian Mountains.

Finish your day by heading back to downtown Montreal on the metro. Get off at the Guy-Concordia Station and walk a few blocks to Mango Bay for a little taste of the Caribbean. House specialties include Jamaican dishes like jerk chicken and curry goat. (There’s a small kids’ menu for kids under 8.)

Day Three

This morning you’ll be enjoying the great outdoors the way Montrealers do: by visiting Mont-Royal, the 764-foot mountain in the center of the city. In fact, this mountain is where Montreal got its name! It’s covered with some 494 acres of parkland, perfect for biking, hiking or playing. To get there, take the metro to the Mont-Royal stop and then catch the number 11 bus up the mountain. Get off at the police cavalry stables near Lac aux Castor, or Beaver Lake. Because the mountain only has a few roads on it, the police have to do their patrols on horseback. Stop to say a quick hello to the horses in their pen.

But the main attraction here is Beaver Lake, where you can rent a paddleboat and go for a spin, or follow the path to a small playground nearby. You’re also not far from Maison Smith (Smith House), a converted stone farmhouse that contains an exhibit on the history of Mont-Royal Park. Climb up to the Chalet at the top of the mountain for extraordinary views of the city. From there, you can climb down to Observatoire de l’Est, another lookout point where you can catch bus 11 back down to Mont-Royal station.

From there walk a few blocks to St-Viateur Bagel, where you’ll discover a cool new treat: Montreal bagels. The ones you’ll find at St-Viateur (reportedly Montreal’s best) are thinner than their New York cousins and baked in wood ovens.

After lunch, hop on the metro to Bonaventure and the Montreal Planetarium. The highlight here is an astronomical show in the Planetarium’s domed theater (check the Web site or call ahead for English-language show times). While you’re waiting for the show to begin, you can tour educational exhibits on stars, galaxies and other astronomical phenomena.

For dinner, take the metro to Saint-Laurent and walk a few blocks to Buonanotte for pasta, pizza and other Italian delights.

Visit our sister site, Family Vacation Critic, for more information about Montreal family vacations.

–written by Sarah Schlichter; updated by Christina Livadiotis